Chloe Swarbrick on Nat's new list 'Untethered friom reality'

[Lilith7]

She may have a point. It does seem that they have no compunction about continuing to muck up the planet, allowing mining companies to virtually buy their candidate in the election, if the article in the second link has it right.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/02/untet...tion-plan/

[b]"In response to the announcement, Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said there were no surprises nor "meaningful solutions" in the Government's "bingo card for environmental destruction and trickle-down economics".[/b]
“Christopher Luxon is not in the boardroom anymore. The irony is these bullet points wouldn’t even hold up in the corporate world: vague, immeasurable and untethered from reality and evidence as they are.

“What on earth does raising the energy New Zealand brings to international relationships mean? For who precisely, and how in reality, does the Government want to ‘improve the rental market’?"
She said when someone showed you who they were you should believe them and the Government had shown that its focus was "squarely on gutting environmental, climate and social gains in order to line the pockets of a few at the top".
"They could at least be honest about it."


Really - 'be honest??!' A politician?? A Tory politician?!!




I recall the Welsh politician who helped set up the  Brit NHS, Nye Bevin, having some interesting - & colourful - thoughts on Tory Politicians...



https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/02/23/big-co...-campaign/


"It was the 1908 miners’ strike in Blackball on the West Coast that led to the birth of the Labour Party.


So there was a rich vein of irony last year when Stockton mine management stopped work, called a meeting and told all its 310 workers to vote for its own man instead.
“That certainly pisses me off, given the advocacy that I have undertaken for the mining industry on the Coast, through all my time in Parliament,” says Labour’s Damien O’Connor.



The veteran MP is smarting at a revelation in new disclosures published by the Electoral Commission: ASX-listed mining firm Bathurst Resources donated $32,600 to 29-year-old independent Patrick Phelps to fully fund his campaign for more mining on the West Coast. 
Candidate spending limits were $32,600 at last year’s election. So Bathurst, unhappy with a Labour policy banning more mining of conservation land, funded Phelps’ entire campaign – every last dollar. It gave him a far bigger war chest than the more established candidates."

[king1]

personally I think all funding of political parties via donations needs to stop. It should be funded internally. There should be no incentive for parties to have an agenda other than what is in the best interest of New Zealand(ers).

[harm_less]

There's nothing new in National doing their level best to sell off as much of our country and its infrastructure as they can. Totally in conflict with environmental and social best practice but when you've got the mindsets of CEO Luxon and 'I've bet my job on giving tax cuts' Willis in play everything is a potential piggy bank to be broken in pursuit of their capitalist agendas. It is extremely concerning what state our country will be in before we see the backs of these greed driven numpties.

[Lilith7]

personally I think all funding of political parties via donations needs to stop.  It should be funded internally.  There should be no incentive for parties to have an agenda other than what is in the best interest of New Zealand(ers).

Me too - an end to donations of all kinds is sorely needed, lest we end up like America.

---

There's nothing new in National doing their level best to sell off as much of our country and its infrastructure as they can. Totally in conflict with environmental and social best practice but when you've got the mindsets of CEO Luxon and 'I've bet my job on giving tax cuts' Willis in play everything is a potential piggy bank to be broken in pursuit of their capitalist agendas. It is extremely concerning what state our country will be in before we see the backs of these greed driven numpties.

I'm starting to think we may need laws (ring fenced in concrete & steel)  to make sure those bastards in the beehive are prevented from taking donations & from selling off essential stuff, as well as doing further damage to the environment.
Fat chance of that though.

I'm trying not to swear so much; slightly concerned lest I swear accidentally in front of the great grandkids. No one likes hearing wee ones swear - but this bloody govt is making that extremely difficult when every damned day there's some fresh bit of bollocks from them.

[C_T_Russell]

Australia's economy is so good because of all the mining, we need to do the same, more of our mines need to be state owned rather than giving international corporations the profits while we get a drop in the bucket back.
Perhaps all the kiwis involved in mining jobs in Australia might just return to NZ?

[Lilith7]

Australia's economy is so good because of all the mining, we need to do the same, more of our mines need to be state owned rather than giving international corporations the profits while we get a drop in the bucket back.
Perhaps all the kiwis involved in mining jobs in Australia might just return to NZ?

Oh yes, excellent idea! Fantastic! 

Who cares if the environment gets even more polluted just a long as the wealthy (AKA The govt) get to be even more wealthy, employing the poor to work in their mines for peanuts & risking their lives, while they rake in ever increasing profits. 

Let our grandchildren & great grandchildren deal with the polluted planet we've bequeathed them....*



* May possiby contain sarcasm...

[Praktica]

Australia's economy is so good because of all the mining, we need to do the same, more of our mines need to be state owned rather than giving international corporations the profits while we get a drop in the bucket back.
Perhaps all the kiwis involved in mining jobs in Australia might just return to NZ?

What resources do we have to mine?

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Australia is a desert surrounded by a very narrow coastal region, subject to sea level rise. It may well have resource wealth. But that comes at a hell of a price many Australians have yet to imagine, let alone be willing to have their children pay.

Still, they can always come here.

[Lilith7]

Australia is a desert surrounded by a very narrow coastal region, subject to sea level rise. It may well have resource wealth. But that comes at a hell of a price many Australians have yet to imagine, let alone be willing to have their children pay.

Still, they can always come here.

Ah, so something to look forward to, then...


I suppose they'd have to bring their bloody politicians....

---

Australia's economy is so good because of all the mining, we need to do the same, more of our mines need to be state owned rather than giving international corporations the profits while we get a drop in the bucket back.
Perhaps all the kiwis involved in mining jobs in Australia might just return to NZ?

What resources do we have to mine?

Well...clearly NOT politician's brains...

[harm_less]

Australia's economy is so good because of all the mining, we need to do the same, more of our mines need to be state owned rather than giving international corporations the profits while we get a drop in the bucket back.
Perhaps all the kiwis involved in mining jobs in Australia might just return to NZ?

A good part of Australia looks like it's already been strip mined so no big deal if it's dug up and turned over again. Our pristine and in many cases biologically unique landscape is a whole different situation and Kiwis value its present condition far too highly for our government to flick it off to the highest bidder to plunder a few finite mineral resources. And on top of it our government is now proposing to allow oil extraction companies to skip responsibility for reinstating offshore rig structures once they've taken the profitable portion of the reservoir's contents, while NZ tax payers are in the process of being saddled with a cost of close to half a billion dollars to clean up the Tui oilfield infrastructure after Tamarind bailed out of their responsibilities in this regard.

New Zealand's regulations regarding oilfield development, environmental responsibilities and risk management are woefully naive and the situation on the Tui field should be a valuable lesson in this regard. We are geographically isolated so initial exploration and development of an offshore oil field is logistically far more complex and expensive than for the likes of the Gulf of Mexico or North Sea where vessels and other infrastructure are more readily available, particularly at short notice such as in the case of an uncontrolled flow (blowout) or similar such as occurred with the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The oil exploration companies know this and so either avoid exposure to developments in our area, or those that do work here know the risks of dealing with a major disaster are mitigated by the fact that our government is virtually powerless when it comes to forcing them to deal with a potential distaster if it does happen. They can and will just 'walk away' from their responsibilities in such a case. The empty rhetoric from our toothless politicians would count for naught.

Those with the sell it at all costs mentality such as the proposals being preached by Shane Jones belong in the past along with the felling of Kauri forests and culling whales. Just another example of those from the NZ First part of our current government proving that they're living in the past despite most NZers having developed their environmental attitudes well beyond that slash and burn mentality.

[Lilith7]

Australia's economy is so good because of all the mining, we need to do the same, more of our mines need to be state owned rather than giving international corporations the profits while we get a drop in the bucket back.
Perhaps all the kiwis involved in mining jobs in Australia might just return to NZ?

A good part of Australia looks like it's already been strip mined so no big deal if it's dug up and turned over again. Our pristine and in many cases biologically unique landscape is a whole different situation and Kiwis value its present condition far too highly for our government to flick it off to the highest bidder to plunder a few finite mineral resources. And on top of it our government is now proposing to allow oil extraction companies to skip responsibility for reinstating offshore rig structures once they've taken the profitable portion of the reservoir's contents, while NZ tax payers are in the process of being saddled with a cost of close to half a billion dollars to clean up the Tui oilfield infrastructure after Tamarind bailed out of their responsibilities in this regard.

New Zealand's regulations regarding oilfield development, environmental responsibilities and risk management are woefully naive and the situation on the Tui field should be a valuable lesson in this regard. We are geographically isolated so initial exploration and development of an offshore oil field is logistically far more complex and expensive than for the likes of the Gulf of Mexico or North Sea where vessels and other infrastructure are more readily available, particularly at short notice such as in the case of an uncontrolled flow (blowout) or similar such as occurred with the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The oil exploration companies know this and so either avoid exposure to developments in our area, or those that do work here know the risks of dealing with a major disaster are mitigated by the fact that our government is virtually powerless when it comes to forcing them to deal with a potential distaster if it does happen. They can and will just 'walk away' from their responsibilities in such a case. The empty rhetoric from our toothless politicians would count for naught.

Those with the sell it at all costs mentality such as the proposals being preached by Shane Jones belong in the past along with the felling of Kauri forests and culling whales. Just another example of those from the NZ First part of our current government proving that they're living in the past despite most NZers having developed their environmental attitudes well beyond that slash and burn mentality.

Well said. It seems that this govt either don't understand the possible consequences of mining or oil exploration, or know very well & just do not care as long as they & their wealthy mates can make a bazillion quid or two from it.

Not sure why it is, but Shane Jones gives me the impression that there's just something wrong about him somehow.

[C_T_Russell]

Australia's economy is so good because of all the mining, we need to do the same, more of our mines need to be state owned rather than giving international corporations the profits while we get a drop in the bucket back.
Perhaps all the kiwis involved in mining jobs in Australia might just return to NZ?

What resources do we have to mine?

Coal for a start, why are we importing the stuff?
Perhaps pike river could be reopened?
Lots of gold too, and now all this talk about drilling for hydrogen?

[Lilith7]

What resources do we have to mine?

Coal for a start, why are we importing the stuff?
Perhaps pike river could be reopened?
Lots of gold too, and now all this talk about drilling for hydrogen?

Because mining coal is just so good for the environment; it'll really help clean up the mess we''ve made of the planet...

[C_T_Russell]

Coal is just forest that was flattened from an asteroid blast.
Just putting it back into the carbon cycle.
You need it to make steel too.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Just? No, not really...

Here, I'll do it for you -

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal

[king1]

coal formation under pressure over millions of years is possibly not too congruent with creationism - an asteroid blast sounds much better

[Praktica]

What resources do we have to mine?

Coal for a start, why are we importing the stuff?
Perhaps pike river could be reopened?
Lots of gold too, and now all this talk about drilling for hydrogen?

Lots of gold? The usual yield from a gold mine is grams/tonne. A lot of oil is burned to get that. Hydrogen has been hyped as a fuel for decades, but the problems of storage and distribution have not been solved yet. It's not very effective as a fuel, either...

[Lilith7]

Coal is just forest that was flattened from an asteroid blast.
Just putting it back into the carbon cycle.
You need it to make steel too.

What is this 'forest' of which you speak?? 

Oh, you mean those things we used to have all over the planet until we decided to use them for fuel & building & stuff, & dug out the older ones which provided coal because we could use it for stuff - & then we realised how fabulously, obscenely wealthy some of us could become by using all of it...

I believe there might still be one or two...possibly in those remote tree museums. Under heavy guard..

[C_T_Russell]

coal formation under pressure over millions of years is possibly not too congruent with creationism - an asteroid blast sounds much better

Who said anything about creationism?

Coal for a start, why are we importing the stuff?
Perhaps pike river could be reopened?
Lots of gold too, and now all this talk about drilling for hydrogen?

Lots of gold? The usual yield from a gold mine is grams/tonne. A lot of oil is burned to get that. Hydrogen has been hyped as a fuel for decades, but the problems of storage and distribution have not been solved yet. It's not very effective as a fuel, either...

That typical yield for gold from most mines.
Australia is doing it and it's profitable, especially with the current prices.
I agree with you about the hydrogen,  but people are trying to create a market for it, with all the greenwashing going on.
And the maori are now trying to claim ownership of it now if you please.

Coal is just forest that was flattened from an asteroid blast.
Just putting it back into the carbon cycle.
You need it to make steel too.

What is this 'forest' of which you speak?? 

Oh, you mean those things we used to have all over the planet until we decided to use them for fuel & building & stuff, & dug out the older ones which provided coal because we could use it for stuff - & then we realised how fabulously, obscenely wealthy some of us could become by using all of it...

I believe there might still be one or two...possibly in those remote tree museums. Under heavy guard..

Are you aware that the earth had much more carbon in the atmosphere millions of years ago?
Lots of forests grew vigoriously as a result of the high co2 too.
Then various events such as volcanic eruptions, asteroids etc wiped out forests and they get buried and turn to coal over millions of years.

You know all that swamp Kauri up north was flattened by taupos eruption.
Given enough time and that would turn to coal too.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Yes, and millions of years ago there weren't 8 billion human beings reliant on the stablility of the Earth's climate in which to feed and house themselves. Oh and make a few people obscenely wealthy.